Heteroglossia

The practice of contextualisation in Africa Indigenous Churches, especially in Ona Iwa Mimo Cherubim and Seraphim in Ibadan land, can only be put in proper perspective if the history of Christianity in Africa is briefly appraised from the day of Pentecost. It was the day the New Testament Church was born with the accounts of the Acts of the Holy Spirit

46 Leslie Newbigin, 2008.” Foolishness to the Greeks” in Paul Chilcote & Laceye C. Warner (eds.) The study of evangelism: exploring a missional practice of the Church, Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans publishing company p. 346.

47 Donald L. Gelpi, 1988. Inculturating North American theology: an experiment in foundational method, Atlanta: Scholar Press, p.2.

48 Justin S. Upkong, 1990.” Jesus and the Jewish Culture and Religion: A New Testament Perspective on Christology and Inculturation” Proceedings of the 5th Nigerian Theological Conference. p.39.

49 Donald MCGavran, 1974. The Clash Between Christianity and Cultures, Washington D.C.: Canon Press.

pp51-78.

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through the activities and contributions of the Early Apostles as recorded in the Book of Acts of the Apostles. It is evident that the Gospel reached Africa from the early period of the New Testament church. The encounter of the Ethiopian eunuch with Phillip and his subsequent baptism did prove that Christianity got to Africa a long time ago. (Acts 8 ).

According to Dada, the subsequent attempts made to spread the gospel and properly root Christianity in Africa failed woefully. The over-running of Christianity in North Africa by the forces of Islam confirmed this failure. Even Church historians have talked about three strands of the planting of Christianity in Africa. These strands have been regarded as an unbroken cord. The reason for this can be linked to failure to properly situate the Christian faith within the local context.⁵⁰

Nevertheless, missionaries from Europe and America made efforts to spread Christianity extensively in Africa right from the eighteenth century. In spite of the achievements made by these missionaries, some people believe they would have performed better if they had allowed proper integration of the gospel within the cultural matrix. The missionaries‟ insensitivity to the indigenous culture which arose from an erroneous theology of mission had bad consequences on their efforts of planting churches in Africa.⁵¹ Various attempts were made at contextualising the Christian faith in Africa. These attempts basically focused on issues concerning liturgy, doctrine and interpretation of Biblical texts. Some churches introduced what could be described as indigenisation (not detached from foreigners or Westerners liturgy, authority and control). Churches variously referred to as the African indigenous churches or African Independent or Instituted churches were able to introduce African elements into liturgy of the church in Africa. Ona Iwa Mimo Cherubim and Seraphim Church in Ibadan is one the churches known as African Indigenous Churches. It was at the beginning of the twentieth century that African Indigenous Churches were established by African leaders who sought to reflect African culture and ways of life in their lives.

Falk articulates the contributions of African Indigenous Churches in making Christianity relevant in African continent thus:

50 A .O. Dada, Cultural Adaptation or christo- paganism: An Evangelical Reflection on Contextualisation in Africa, Orita, Ibadan Journal of Religious Studies, XLII/ 1, June, 2010. p.148.

51 J.N.K. Mugabi, “A Fresh Look at Evangelism in Africa” in Paul W. Chilcote & Laceye C. Werner(eds.) The study of Evangelism : Exploring a Missional Practice of the Church p.354.

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The African Independent Churches constitute a significant portion of Christianity in Africa and unique spirit in African Christianity. The development of Independent Churches has attained a dimension that is unprecedented in the history of the Christian church. These independent church movements have been founded by a separation from parent churches, missions or independent Churches- in a few cases under the initiative of a dynamic leader…such ministries may be found in many countries of Africa, especially South of the Sahara; these ministries have large influence on the population.⁵²

The indigenous churches contextualised the liturgy of the church in the area of church music because the Western missionaries and leaders of mission churches did not allow the use of traditional African music in and outside the church, because they regarded African musical instruments like local drums, talking drums (g ngan) and lyrics as originally dedicated to the worship of idols. This denial made African Christians to be unable to express the deepest level of their being in worship; unlike they did in the traditional worship. The nationalistic and cultural awareness of the late nineteenth century sensitised the African Christians on the value of traditional music. The indigenous churches were quick to appropriate and adopt traditional music in worship. This made their worship to be more meaningful, relevant to their context and lively. Leaders and members of indigenous churches, such as n w M m Cherubim and Seraphim Church, composed songs that utilized traditional categories in praising Jesus Christ.

Furthermore, the Indigenous Churches also adapted African traditional elements and rites to make their faith meaningful. Elements like Holy olive oil and water, incense, salt, honey, ritual cleansing, ritual baths and sacred preparations are common phenomena in these churches. They are often used for healing, deliverance from evil power and to providing solutions for people going through one problem or the other.

In the traditional context, some of these elements and rituals are integral part of the healing process. Incantations ( g d or potent words) are often invoked on elements like honey, water and salt. Such specially prepared elements are administered to the sick.

Likewise, ritual baths are prescribed for people going through one serious problem or chronic diseases. In the traditional African context, water is used to symbolically cleanse a person from every evil power that is causing misfortune or serious sickness. That is why a running water or water in an enclosure is often sanctified by the traditional priest who uses it

52 P. Falk, 1999. The Growth of the church in Africa, Jos, Nigeria: African Christian Textbooks. P. 452.

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to bath the person in need of it. The ritual use of water in the African Indigenous Churches can, therefore, be understood in the light of this context.⁵³ With the transition to Christianity, this African traditional practice and Israelite sacred cultic element of ritual baths as recorded in Exodus and Leviticus are contextualised in different form in Indigenous Churches, such as n w M m Cherubim and Seraphim Churches. In contextualising, these elements are adapted into the healing process and used to provide solutions to the problems of members. Instead of the incantation(potent words) recited on them in the traditional set-up, special psalms, some portions of the Scriptures and prayers in the name of Jesus Christ are now recited and read on them as directed by the Holy Spirit.

The traditional background has also enriched the conception and understanding of Jesus Christ in the indigenous churches. Leaders and members of indigenous churches have got a deeper understanding of Christ through their songs, prayers, praises and reflections that emanated from the influence of their culture and social structure. For example, Jesus Christ has been variously referred to as the living ancestor and the great king. Awolalu says, ancestors constitute the closest link between the world of men and the spirit world and they are believed to be keenly interested in the welfare of the family. The living, therefore, have the confidence that they live in a world in which their ancestors are interested and over which they are watching.⁵⁴

They also contextualise the reading and interpretation of the Bible in Africa. One of the novel ways the reading of the Bible has been contextualised in Africa is what Adamo describes as “the Bible as Power approach”. This is an “existential” and “reflective”

approach to the interpretation of the Bible. The use of the Bible as means of protection, healing, and success is an approach that is popular in the African Indigenous Churches.⁵⁵ Ukpong also seeks this method of using the Bible as “biblical inculturation”, which is a dynamic ongoing process by which people consciously and critically appropriate the Bible and its message from within the perspectives and resources of their culture.⁵⁶

53 A.O .Dada, Cultural Adaptation or Christo- paganism: An Evangelical Reflection on Contextualisation in Africa, Orita, Ibadan Journal of Religious Studies, XLII/ 1, June,2010. p. 151.

54 J. O. Awolalu, 1981. Yoruba Beliefs and Sacrificial Rites, Essex: Longman Group Limited, p. 61.

55 David T. Adamo, 2004. Decolonizing African Biblical Studies, Abraka, Nigeria: Delta State University pp 24-27.

56 Justin Ukpong, “Inculturation as Decolonisation of the Bible in Africa” in S. O. Abogunrin, et al.(eds.) Decolonisation of Biblical Interpretation in Africa, Ibadan : Nigerian Association for Biblical Studies pp. 53-56.

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In African Indigenous Churches, the Bible is often creatively used to address an unbearable and dangerous condition. Among the indigenous churches in Ibadan, the Psalms feature as a multipurpose panacea for curing sick people or people attacked by evil forces.

Some of the elements and practices peculiar to Indigenous churches in Africa, especially in Ibadanland, in the name of contextualisation, are creeping into mission and even Evangelical Churches in recent times. The use of anointing oil, blessing of water for healing and reading of special psalms are now very common in the midst of these aforementioned churches.

Living Spring Chapel, Ibadan, Winners Chapel, Ibadan, Christ Apostolic Churches in Ibadan and so on now use water and anointing oil for healing, restoration and protection. This is because they have realised that the people find it easy to relate with the African elements introduced into indigenous churches and that they attract more members to the church which, perhaps, ultimately result in stable finance for the church. In order for it to be meaningful to Africans, the Bible‟s life- giving message must be served in an African cup.

But, so as not to develop into heresy, as it has in so many cases among the liberal religionists, the text of the Holy Bible cannot be allowed to be swallowed up by the various cultures it confronts. In other words, if the truths taught in the Bible must first be sifted through the cultural sieve of the target society before they can be pronounced “genuine,”

then the resulting combination is syncretistic and not “Christian” at all. On the other hand, if the Bible is seen as supra-cultural (standing over and above all cultures) but, at the same time, providing practical guidance and answers to the problems of life in every culture, the various indigenous cultures can be filtered through the sieve of Biblical truths.

An African Indigenous Church (AIC) developed out of discontent with European mission, in order to meet some of the perceived needs of Africans especially Yoruba Christians, which were not met within the missions. African Indigenous church means a purely black-controlled denomination with no links in membership or administrative control with any non- African church. These churches are churches that have completely broken the umbilical cord with the Western missionary enterprise. Yet these churches are not racist at all in theology and outlook. According to Oshitelu, these churches made conscious efforts to revive and perpetuate selected aspects of Yor b culture.⁵⁷ Parrinder says these independent

57 G. A. Oshitelu, 2000. “The trends and development of Orthodox and Pentecostal Churches in Yoruba land”

Orita XXXII: 1-2:110.

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African churches were brought about by the need for independence, sometimes against dictatorial missionaries and, most times, against the formalism of foreign ways, which led to

“quenching the Spirit”. Although these churches kept to the Bible, prayer books and hymn books of the parent missions, they added colour in costume and music, using different types of drums like the talking drums, „ y - l ‟ and calabashes instead of the dreary harmonium.⁵⁸

The rise of these churches was a result of the general feeling that African customs, laws, dancing, family, marriage, language, sayings, philosophy and so on were decaying where they were not crushed. The founders and members of these independent churches sought to put their own interpretation upon Christianity. This is one of the most influential ways of contextualising the religion. According to Atansuyi, members of Africans indigenous churches strongly believe that the Christian faith which the Gospel proclaims is fine, but should be indigenised and contextualised in a holistic, Biblical, incarnate and conscientising evangelism. It should be alert to the current historical and cultural moment in each place where the church is called to witness the Gospel.⁵⁹ Okolo further claims that the faith proclaimed by the Gospel is not a solitary thing. The aim of God is not simply that we rejoice in Him, but also to show us how great it is to rejoice with one another in Him. To enjoy God by oneself is great, but to enjoy God in company with others is far greater.⁶⁰

It is not enough to Africanise Christianity. African Christianity must discover a catholic vocation. From various sources, it has been discovered that African theology is a

"theology based on the biblical faith of Africans, and which speaks to the African soul".⁶¹ Most of the missionaries held the belief that the inspiration or charismatic gifts among Africans were of evil spirit. They believed that Africans, that is the black race, were not fertile enough to produce their own ideas. It is true that Africans give a special character and local colour to their beliefs, religious observances and practices, languages, psychological reactions and more generally, to their behaviours.

58 Geoffrey Parrinder, 1969. Religion in Africa, London, The Pall Mall Press Ltd p.37.

59H.O. Atansuyi, 1996. Seminar paper on the Gospel and culture from the perspective of African Instituted Churches pp.2-8 (Unpublished).

60 C.B. Okolo, 1976. "Diminished Man and Theology: A Third World Culture and Religion" in AFER, vol. 18, N. 2, Paraphrased as "Christ is Black" by Aylward Shorter in African Christian Spirituality, London: G.

Chapman, p. 71

61 In the conference of AACC held in Nairobi in 1969 African Theology was defined as written above take the

numerous African nationalists time to see Christianity as aiding or being in close alliance with the white power structures that have enslaved them. (AACC 1969 Engagement, Nairobi.) an International conference.

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Some of the remote and immediate causes of the emergence of African Indigenous Churches include the following : Conflict of leadership between the white missionaries and the black pastors; the missionaries neglected the organisation of the Africans, that is, their customs, institutions and many other things that are African; the tyranny of the rule of the missionaries and their attitude on polygamous rule; the permission of ritualism which often deteriorated into magical system of sacrifice and ceremony, whereby we give God what He wants in order to get from Him what we want. However these missions made reasonable and considerable impact on the society and paved the way for the later successes of the Church in this African country. ⁶²

Omoyajowo asserts that “the approach by the foreign missions was largely negative.

The general tendency by them was to condemn African things in toto and to paint the picture of a dark continent. The missionaries had no respect for the peoples' way of life, their religion or culture.” He even gave an example of negative attitudes by a Capuchin missionary in Congo, who says “On my way, I found numbers of idols which I threw into the fire. The owner of these idols....seemed very annoyed. To calm him down by humiliating him, I let him know that if he persisted in anger, I should see that he himself is burnt with his idols".⁶³ Omoyajowo also points out the feelings and comments of African nationalists.

They said “We are, therefore, little surprised that the Christianity imbibed by the Africans from these foreign missionaries was veneer and in most cases superficial and hypocritical. It was these weaknesses that the 'African' group of Churches the African "indigenous"

Churches exploited in establishing their Churches.”⁶⁴

It did not take the numerous African nationalists time to see Christianity as aiding or being in close alliance with the white power structures that have enslaved them. It is this negative attitude which characterised the missionary work of the foreign missionaries. It was a kind of evangelism that had no regard for the peoples' culture and religion. They were too simply convinced of the enormous superiority of the European West and came unconsciously, but naturally, as bearers not only of the Christian message, but also of Westernisations‟. “Africans therefore denounce 'Western Christianity' or 'White Christ'

63 Akin Omoyajowo, quoting Adrian Hasting, 1966. Church and Mission in Modern Africa, Fordham University Press .p. 59.

64 Akin Omoyajowo, 1982. Cherubim and Seraphim. The History of an African Independent Church, Lagos:

NOK Publishing p.4.

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because they see this as tied up with the colonialism and neo-colonialism that have created ghastly realities of hunger, unemployment, repression, racism and violence in the third world."⁶⁵ It is only from this perspective that we can understand Moore's view the editor of a book „Black Theology‟ which was banned by the racist government of South Africa when it first appeared under the title „Essays on Black Theology‟ in 1972, that:

In South Africa the Christian Church has probably been one of the most powerful instruments in making possible the political oppression of the black people. While the white colonists were busy with the process of robbing the people of their land and their independence, the churches were busy however, unconsciously, undermining the will of the people to resist. This was done in a number of subtle and not so subtle ways.⁶⁶

He also explained that the black people were made to believe not that salvation is in Christ alone, but that salvation is in accepting the new white ways of living. The effect of this was to internalise in the black people a sense of inferiority of the interchangeability, in religious language, of 'black' and 'evil' which according to him the black man was made to believe, were synonymous words, and it was therefore not difficult to persuade him that a black man was an evil (and inferior) person; and that his blackness is a sign of his inferiority as an outcast from the Grace of God. And that the Church helped to colonies the minds of the black people, cannot be dismissed with a wave of the hand. Perhaps Buthelezi has made the point in a more passionately succinct way when he said:

"The naked truth is that the African lives at the fringe of life.

He has been a victim of selective giving and withholding. He has not been allowed to realise the potential of his humanity.

In other words, he became alienated from that wholeness of life which in his religious tradition helped him not to live as a split personality."⁶⁷

At inception, Indigenous African Churches were known as Aladura Churches. The name Aladura is derived from „ d r ‘, prayer, and 'praying churches' is an apt description of these organisations. The founders of the Aladura churches formed 'praying bands' within the

65 Akin Omoyajowo, 1982. Cherubim and Seraphim. The History of an African Independent Church, Lagos:

NOK Publishing pp.4-6.

66 Basil Moore, 1973. Black Theology: the South African Voice, London, C. Hurst & Co. Editor's preface p.

viii

67 Manas Buthelezi, 1973. "The Theological meaning of True Humanity" in Black Theology, London p. 102